I Dreamed a Dream
by WuHaoNi
Summary: Shattered dreams and empty hopes are all they have left. Done for the Speech Topic Challenge and the Just Dialogue/Description Challenge at the HPFC forum.


**Disclaimer: As usual, Harry Potter is the property of the lovely JK Rowling.**

**A/N: This was done for both the Just Dialogue/Description Challenge as well as the Speech Topic Challenge. The former is self-explanatory, the later is not. I picked a number (8) and was given a Speech Topic based on that number. My prompt was: "My Hopes and Dreams and Where They'll Lead Me". **

**A/N: The style is a big departure for me. Please, tell me what you think! Do you think I adhered to the topic? **

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_Pictures of you, pictures of me  
Hung upon your wall for the world to see  
Pictures of you, pictures of me  
Remind us all of what we could have been.  
__  
_**-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX**

Did they ever dream it would end up like this?

Held at wandpoint by Walden Macnair.

Benjy—a small man with a loud, booming laugh as he charmed Marlene, even though she was married.

They only found pieces.

_It's picture time, and Gideon and Fabian Prewett are hamming for the camera. Dorcas, the designated photographer, shakes her head at their shenanigans, but tolerates it. She and Fabian are getting married in two weeks, and funny faces, odd positions and animal noises no longer bother her. Moody, the designated arse-kicker, is not amused. A couple of Petrificus Totaluses solves the problem, and the Prewett brothers are literarily frozen in time, identical expressions of shock on their freckled faces._

Bodies dumped in the Thames by Crabbe and Goyle.

Gideon and Fabian—fraternal twins whose mischievous tricks had brightened the smiles of many Order members during times when laughs were seldom to be had.

They fought like heroes.

_The Order is in as high spirits as an army can manage. Christmas is in the air, and while there are empty seats at the table, they still joke around, knowing every bit of jollity might be their last. Mistletoe hangs from every rafter in headquarters because Elphias Dodge went overboard decorating. This prompts Lily and James to snog passionately every time they enter the room, leading an exasperated Minerva McGonagall to proclaim mistletoe banished forevermore._

Killed and tortured by Voldemort himself.

Dorcas—a petite witch who was always in motion, vigorously dancing with Sirius during Lily and James' wedding as other guests feared for their safety.

They thought she was safe.

_Cardoc Dearborn's disappearance has a sobering effect on everyone. It was one thing to know for sure that your friend, lover, husband, wife, was dead, but the uncertainty grinds away at the psyche, because there will always be some part of them that wonders whether he will ever come back. Lily is seven months pregnant with Harry, and she flat out refuses to let James go on missions, even with triple the back up that the Order usually provides. She worries about being left alone with a newborn son, and no amount of cajoling will convince her to release her husband. Remus has to intervene with calming words and a subtle Sleeping Potion to drag James away. When James returns with boils all over his body, Lily unleashes a hormonal pregnant women's wrath that Remus dryly deems worse than the Death Eaters they had just faced._

Tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange.

Frank and Alice—the dynamic husband and wife duo that was responsible for over fifty percent of the Death Eaters' arrests.

They were never the same.

_Doubt and secrecy are now the name of the game. There is a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix; that is much is certain. The foundation of trust is crumbling and no one knows what to do about it. Accusations fly like dragons, and the first bonds of trust begin to break in the Marauder's relationship. Lily, James and Sirius grow closer than ever, and begin to shy away from Remus, who is busy with missions for Dumbledore—or so he says. They hardly have time to give Peter a second thought and they believe the stories he tells them about working late. After all, why would _Peter_ be the spy?_

Locked up in Azkaban for a crime that he did not commit.

Sirius—dark head thrown back, laughing as he recalled a near death experience the previous day, ignoring Mad-Eye Moody's grumbles that he was going to get himself killed.

They thought he was the traitor.

_The joint capture of Avery marks the third time that Lily and James have defied Voldemort. Two days later, Alice and Frank track down and execute Adam Travers, the man who murdered Marlene McKinnon and her family. This act of vengeance is also their third act of defiance, and prompts Dumbledore to invite the two couples to Hogwarts to discuss the prophecy. __The Longbottoms readily accept his offer to be their Secret Keeper, but James, as stubborn as ever, insists on an elaborate ruse to fool Voldemort. The scheme appeals to his prank making side, and reminds him of when he was back at school, planning a way to get the Slytherins. Except this time, they are the bait, and the one thing they have to lose is their lives. But Dumbledore, that master of manipulation, likes the idea and agrees. He will regret that decision every day for the rest of his life._

Left to languish in poverty and misery.

Remus—werewolf extraordinaire and the one of the best duelers in the Order, a wry smile on his face as he listened to Sirius' exaggerated exploits, shaking his head behind his friend's back.

They all left him.

_Lily has always liked Halloween. During her childhood, it was an excuse to eat candy, run wild, and pretend that magic was real, dressing up like the Wicked Witch of the West and scaring Petunia—even though her sister was older. At Hogwarts, she could stuff herself silly and giggle with her classmates over the Marauder's yearly prank, and act as if she wasn't amused when James was looking. Now, as a mother, Lily is looking forward to when Harry gets to go out himself, and to those long years away when he will be at Hogwarts._

_She strokes the downy black hair that already covers his tiny little head and lays him back down in his pram, gently crooning a Muggle lullaby that her mother had taught her. When he is asleep, she turns off the lights and activates the charm that she warded in his room and runs downstairs to James. They will eat candy apples, make love, and maybe she will get that second child that she is dreaming about. Sarah Lily. Yes, that is what they will name her._

Murdered by Voldemort because of their son.

Lily and James—the Golden Couple and shining example of the Light, tangled together in an armchair by the fire during the McKinnon's Christmas party as five month old Harry fussed in the corner.

They became martyrs.

No one ever thought it would end up like this.

They were only children, just out of school and trying to win a war that they had no hope of winning.

They hoped for victory.

They dreamed of a world without evil.

It lead them to death.


End file.
